Focus: The minister's cut

The plot thickens for Irelands film industry as fraud claims surface prior to a vital ruling on tax breaks, write John Burns and Jan Battles

When Charlie McCreevy delivers his budget speech in the Dail on December 3, Irish movie producers will be on the edge of their seats. Somewhere in the finance minister’s 50-minute script will be the punchline — is a lucrative tax break for the Irish film industry to be scrapped or continued?

It’s a cliffhanger. McCreevy said last year that the relief, known as section 481, would expire at the end of 2004. But he indicated that he could be persuaded to change his mind. Cue a vigorous lobbying campaign by the Irish film industry, led by Jim Sheridan and Neil Jordan.

The campaign looked successful, but then came a twist in the tale. Two weeks ago, Muriel Hinch, a Revenue official, revealed that 30 films were being investigated for tax fraud. Production companies were accused of inflating budgets and routing money into tax havens. The Revenue was seeking to claw back